i'm on the fence (you won't shut me out)
by katiekayx
Summary: "... It was like the bad parts of his life were muted when he was with Zoe. He could never tell her that, though. That went far and against the rules she had laid out for them, and he wasn't about to screw this up. Zoe Hart might never want a guy like him to be her boyfriend, but this was close enough." Re-write of episode 2x05.


_A/N: This is a re-write of Wade's response to Zoe thinking someone is sleeping in her bed during 2x05. I think this might be a little bit OOC for Wade, but this fic wouldn't leave my head after I re-watched this episode. Please review if you read!_

* * *

_Part of me keeps coming back_  
_To the part of you I want around_  
_I'm on the fence about it again_  
_Do I let you go or let you in_

_...  
..._

"Apparently someone slept in Big Z's bed last night," Lavon said casually, and Wade paused in his admiration of Zoe in his clothes to frown at his best friend.

"Well Doc, you know very well I was tied up last night… literally," he said, smirking at Zoe.

"Well if it wasn't him, then it was someone else. Can you please call the Sheriff?" Zoe implored Lavon, her brown eyes wide.

"I don't mean to freak you guys out… but have you considered the possibility of demons?" Wade teased, his face serious.

"Demons." Zoe repeated flatly. "This is why I don't let you talk in bed."

Lavon made his excuses and left for his mayoral duties, and Wade watched as Zoe fluttered around the kitchen, never lingering for too long in one spot, a little crease appearing in between her eyebrows. He started to frown as well. "You're serious, aren't you."

Zoe turned around, "Why would I joke about someone sleeping in my bed?!"

Wade frowned, "I don't know." He stood, taking a step towards her, "You're really worried about this?"

"My sheets were all rumpled! Someone didn't just sit on my bed, Wade, they _slept_ in my bed. That's so creepy!"

On a whim, Wade reached for her hand, rubbing what he hoped were soothing circles on her palm with his thumb. "I don't want you sleeping there tonight."

"And where do you suggest I go?"

"My place."

Zoe tensed, and Wade did too, realizing that this was beginning to venture far from the friends-with-benefits, casually-monogamous territory and way more into relationship territory, but he didn't care much, not when the idea of someone trying to sleep in Zoe's bed presented itself.

"Look, you're clearly freaked out. If some perv is trying to sleep with you without your knowledge, they're clearly not right in the head."

"I thought you were working tonight?" Zoe asked him, not making eye contact. Wade frowned even more. Was she really this against sleeping at his place? Did it make her so uncomfortable that she'd rather sleep in her house, where someone could break in at any minute?

"I am. I won't be back until late. Plenty of time for you to redecorate the whole place before I get home," he teased, smirking at her, feeling gratified and relieved when she smiled back.

"I am not that bad."

"Doc, the last time you spent the night my bathroom looked like a hotel."

"Clean hygiene should always be a priority," she insisted, in her doctor voice. Wade usually found it annoying, but he had to admit that now that they were sleeping together, a lot of things he used to find annoying didn't bother him so much. It was like the bad parts of his life were muted when he was with Zoe.

He could never tell her that, though. That went far and against the rules she had laid out for them, and he wasn't about to screw this up. Zoe Hart might never want a guy like him to be her boyfriend, but this was close enough. She wasn't sleeping with anyone else, and a primal, dominant part of him liked knowing that for now, she was all his.

"Just sleep at my place tonight, Doc. It would make me feel a lot better, and I know you won't sleep if you're listening for the doorknob from your bedroom all night."

Zoe looked like she wanted to say something, but she just smiled at him, a soft smile that he rarely got to see. It made his heart flutter in his chest and he knew he was in way over his head when it came to Doctor Hart, but he couldn't bring himself to change a single thing about his little arrangement with her.

"I'll see you later," she said, "I have to go get changed." She turned to leave, and he called after her.

"Hey Doc? Keep the shirt." He grinned, the church social smile as she once called it, and watched as she flipped him off over her shoulder. "That's my girl," he muttered as he laughed.

.

.

.

It was well after two in the morning when Wade finally got home. All he wanted to do was shower and collapse into bed, but he knew that Zoe was there, and he didn't know if he should sleep on the couch or not.

They'd slept together dozens of times now, but this felt different. It wasn't sex, it was _sleeping_, which felt much more intimate for some reason. Wade shut the front door quietly behind him, and headed towards the bedroom. The TV in the living room was on, but there was no sight of Zoe, and when he finally found her, his breath backed up in his chest.

Zoe was curled up; still wearinghis shirt, sound asleep in his bed. Not only that, but she was curled on the opposite side to where he usually slept, one arm reaching out towards Wade's side of the bed. "You're killin' me, Doc," he murmured to himself, shutting the bedroom door behind him as he went into the bathroom to shower. He tried to be quiet, hoping the squeaky faucet didn't wake her, and tried to distract himself from what seeing such a domestic scene in his house was doing to him.

He knew he liked her, but this was ridiculous.

When he got out of the shower, he toweled off and dressed quickly in sweatpants and a tshirt. Normally he slept in just his boxers, but he figured Zoe would bite his head off if she woke up and he was practically naked. He tiptoed out of his bedroom when he got dressed and was starting to bed down on the couch when soft footsteps drew his attention. Zoe stood at the end of the couch, looking down at him.

"Did I wake you?" he asked softly, watching as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Not really. Why are you out here?" She asked, and Wade shrugged.

"I just figured if we weren't…" He trailed off, blushing slightly. Why was this so difficult? He had literally seen every part of Zoe Hart before, so this conversation should be a piece of cake.

"If we're not going to have sex, you don't want to sleep in the same bed?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips, and _damn it all_ if she didn't sound so hurt by that. What was he supposed to do? He was all twisted up inside over her, and she didn't even realize it.

"I didn't mean it like that, Zo."

"Just come to bed."

Wade didn't say anything, but sighed in defeat before getting off the couch and following her to his bedroom. She took one side of the bed, and he the other side, and they both lay there, deliberately not touching.

"What if someone is in there right now?" Zoe asked softly after a few moments.

Wade frowned and turned to look at her, "Hey, don't worry about stuff like that. You'll just get all worked up."

"Someone has been _sleeping in my bed!_ I think that is something to get worked up over!" She parroted, in a bad imitation of his accent.

"Do you want me to go over there and check?" He asked, in all seriousness. He didn't like the thought of some weirdo snooping around Zoe's place either, but he knew how her mind worked by now, and knew the longer she thought about it, the more paranoid she would get, and the more likely it was that she'd do something stupid like try to confront whoever it was.

"… No," she said, and he watched as a small amount of fear crept into her features.

"Zoe…" he reached out to touch her face, pushing her hair back behind her ear, "you don't need to be scared, all right?"

"I'm not scared," she said, defensively, and he shook his head.

"I'm just sayin' that I'm not gonna let anything happen to you."

Her features softened as she looked at him, "I know that, Wade." She leaned in to kiss him before he could say anything else, and he didn't know if that was a good thing or not.

He was terrified that he felt more for her than she did for him. In fact, he was certain that's how it was. They were friends with benefits, yes, but he wanted Zoe for more than that. For now, he was going to take what he could get, and he didn't want to ruin what they had, but the more time he spent with her, the more he realized he was falling for her, and he didn't know what to do about that.

Feeling a surge of emotion, he kissed her harder, rolling over so he was half on top of her. His hand crept up inside of the shirt she wore – _his shirt_ – and he smiled against her lips when she sighed his name. "Let me take care of you," he whispered, and was about to kiss her again, when he heard rustling outside. He froze, and so did Zoe, as they both strained to hear the noises.

"Wade—"

"I know, I hear it," he told her, shushing her. "Stay here," he told her, and got out of bed, heading to the large windows that faced Zoe's carriage house. He heard footsteps behind him and knew it was Zoe, and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Zo, I told you—"

"If someone is breaking into my house, I want to stop them!" She whispered, her eyes fierce.

"C'mon then, stay behind me," he told her, his protective streak kicking in. He knew she was probably capable of taking care of herself, but she was _so tiny_, and he hated the idea that someone would attack her or try to keep her quiet if she caught them breaking into her house. He hated the thought of her hurt or in trouble, and if that wasn't a sign that he was in way over his head for Zoe, he didn't know what was.

They tiptoed out onto Wade's porch and even from there they could hear the sound of someone moving around closer to Zoe's property.

"Wade—" Zoe said, her voice slightly shaky, and he took her hand.

"Zoe, please go back inside." He implored her, "Just in case, okay?"

Zoe looked at him with wide eyes, but something softened in them as she took in the look Wade was sure was on his face (_keep her safe, keep her safe, keep her safe_). "Okay," she said softly. "Be careful."

After watching to make sure she went back inside, Wade walked the rest of the way to Zoe's house with determined steps, reaching into the back of his car for his baseball bat on the way there. He made a mental note to give the bat to Zoe to keep near her bed, but figured she'd fight him on this one, too. When he got closer, he could see Zoe's front door ajar, and he tightened his grip on the bat in his hands.

Pushing the door open quietly, he slipped inside, noting that the lights were still off. He headed straight for Zoe's bedroom, knowing that she thought whoever had been getting in was likely to be in there again, instead of trying to go somewhere else in the house. As he took a few more steps into her bedroom, he stopped in his tracks as he took in the figure that stood staring at Zoe's bed, as if trying to figure out why it was empty.

"You have got to be kidding me."

.

.

.

George. George Tucker was Zoe Hart's bed-sleeper, and Wade knew that he had been sleep walking, but he still felt irrationally angry at the idea of George going to Zoe's to _sleep in her bed_. He knew he needed to get rid of any jealous feelings. He and Zoe weren't dating. They were sleeping together, and anything else would freak her out. He couldn't push her away, not now, not when things had been going so good between them lately. They were good friends (with benefits) and he didn't want to ruin it.

Still, he was not happy with George.

George apologized to Zoe over and over after Wade had woken him up in Zoe's living room. Luckily it never occurred to George to be suspicious of Zoe having been at Wade's instead of asleep in her own bed. He was too busy being apologetic for having broken in and scaring her in the first place.

An hour or so later, Wade was back in his bed, arms tucked underneath his head as he stared at the ceiling, waiting for the knot in the pit of his stomach to go away. He knew he had no right to feel like this. Zoe wasn't _his_. He just couldn't help but think how convenient it all was that the one place George Tucker found himself when he was sleepwalking was Zoe's bed. Zoe didn't think it was strange apparently, because she was probably back in her house, asleep. It was almost four in the morning at this point, and Wade sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he realized he probably wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

A light knock on his door shook him from his thoughts and he furrowed his brow, wondering who would be knocking so early. He knew who he _wanted _it to be, but he wasn't holding his breath. As he got out of bed and headed for the door, he realized how tired he actually was. He just wanted to go back to bed. Feeling frustrated, he swung open the door with a little more force than necessary, startling none other than Zoe Hart as she stood on his porch.

"Wade, I—"

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked, voice scratchy with sleep.

"I could say the same for you. You look terrible."

"As always, your bedside manner is impeccable, Doc."

Zoe winced, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant that you look tired, Wade."

"Zoe, it's four in the morning. What are you doing here?"

She looked down at her feet, "I still feel weird sleeping there. Can I stay here? Just for a few more hours?"

Wade gazed down at her and felt a swooping sensation in his stomach when he realized that she could ask anything of him and he'd probably do it. "Come here," he told her gently, his arm sliding over her shoulders as she stepped through the doorway.

The both of them nearly dead on their feet, they walked together to his bedroom and Zoe didn't waste any time – she had her shoes off in two seconds, left in only her sweatpants and a plaid shirt (_his shirt, the same shirt she had been wearing before they were interrupted_, his mind so helpfully supplied), and she slid into Wade's bed like she owned the damn thing, making a noise of contentment when she got settled.

"Wade? What are you looking at?" She asked, and he realized he'd been staring at her making herself comfortable for the last few seconds.

"I'm just…" _trying to convince myself that you're really here._ "Never mind."

Once he got in and was all settled in too, she rolled over to face him, her eyes tracing the features of his face. He tried not to squirm under her gaze, but he felt like she was looking for something, and he wanted so badly for her to find whatever it was. "I like sleeping with you," she said softly, and before he could reply, she kissed him, stealing the words right out of his mouth.

"What does that mean, Zoe?" He asked once they finally broke apart when air became a necessity, "I like what we're doing here, Zo. I do. But… when you say stuff like that to me, it makes me…"

"I like you, Wade Kinsella. That's all I'm sure of right now."

She was always surprising him. He was sure he made quite the picture – his eyes as wide as saucers as he registered her words. He never thought this would happen. He had hoped, of course, but he thought she was just satisfying her urges until the next boyfriend prospect came along. He never dreamed that what they had would be so good, or so natural. He felt like he was home when he was with Zoe.

"I like you too, Doc." He told her, unable to keep the grin off his face as she smiled, the same smile she had on her face when he asked her out for a drink all those weeks ago. "I like you a lot."

"Good. Now get some sleep. You're making me breakfast in the morning."

"Is that right?" Wade asked her, snaking an arm around her waist, pulling her with him when he rolled over so she was lying partially on top of him.

"Mhm. I'm thinking pancakes."

"Girl, a southern man does not make pancakes."

"He does if he wants to make the girl who sleeps with him at night happy…" Zoe said, trailing off in peals of laughter as Wade dug his fingers into her sides, tickling her.

"You're too sassy for your own good."

"You like it."

"I do. Lord help me, but I really do." He smiled, kissing her once more before they both fell asleep, contented smiles on both of their faces.


End file.
